Make Mᴏᴅᴇ Great Again!
by Starfarer
Summary: During the highly divisive 2016 U.S. presidential election Betty find herself forced to deal with Wilhelmina's bold 'Make Mᴏᴅᴇ Great Again' campaign for the magazine


Author's note: Differs from the show in that the events occur during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Betty was in a great mood, and had her usual smile on her face as she made her way to work, and not even the creepy hoodlum who had followed her for fifteen minutes had managed to dampen her good spirits. The sun was shining, and though she sadly couldn't see all that much of it on street-level, what whit being surrounded by towering skyscrapers and all, that certainly helped. It was a warm, pleasant morning, and it felt like her fellow New Yorkians felt the same way. She greeted everyone who were nice enough to make eye-contact, dazzling them with her infectious megawatt smile, and her braces glinted in the sunlight. The sharp sound of sirens nearby broke her reverie, but she rationalized that it added to the charm of living in a thriving metropolis, and from a certain point of view, it was comforting to know that the police was out and about, keeping the peace at the best of their ability.

The only first serious crack in her good mood occurred when she ran into Marc outside the Meade Publications building, where he was waiting for Wilhelmina Slater. She had grown accustomed to Marc and his antics, that wasn't the problem. What caused her to do a double-take was that he was wearing a red MAGA hat with his usual impeccable outfit. He flashed her what might possibly be taken as a smile, and she tried to force herself to smile back as best she could, but she wasn't too sure if it looked quite as genuine or natural as she hoped.

Wilhelmina's car pulled up right next to them then, and Marc wasted no time opening the door for her. Wilhelmina's long, graceful legs emerged, and she somehow managed to do with with effortless elegance. She wore a knee-long white skirt, and a stylish dress jacket with retro shoulder pads. On her head was a white MAGA hat.

"Patriotism never looked so good!" Marc enthused appreciatively, doing the OK handgesture as he took in Wilhelmina's outfit. Betty swallowed, feeling slightly nauseous, and confused. Wilhelmina and Marc joined her, but ignored her as they took the elevator up to the 28th floor.

Betty was so taken aback and trying to come up with rational explanations for what was going on that she almost had the elevator doors close on her. She hurriedly made her way out and into the Mᴏᴅᴇ reception area.

Her assumption that it was just Wilhelmina and Marc being their odd selves was blown out of the water as she caught sight of Amanda behind the reception desk talking to someone on the phone. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the attention-grabbing red MAGA hat on her head complimenting her red dress. There was a playful sparkle in her blue eyes and she winked at Betty as she passed by, and Betty felt her mouth go dry. She nodded in greeting, but her smile was now frozen in a grimace, and internally she felt something close to a panic attack coming on. What was going on? Was the whole office going crazy? Or had she crossed over into some bizarre alternate – Alt-Right? – dimension? Things only got worse as she noticed most people milling around donning the same MAGA hats too.

She hurriedly made her way towards Daniel's office, and was prepared to get a break from the apparent outburst of madness that had swept the offices of Mᴏᴅᴇ. That notion was blown away as she entered the office and saw Daniel trying on a brand new tailored suit in a red MAGA hat. "What do you think?" he asked as he kept doing minor adjustments to the red tie in the mirror. "It's very patriotic," she suggested meekly, remembering overhearing Marc's comment as he appraised Wilhelmina's outfit. "Yeah!" Daniel agreed, smiling at her via the mirror.

"So…" she let the sentence trail off without finishing it, hoping Daniel would pick up on it regardless. "So…. What?" Daniel asked, finally turning to face her. "What's with the sudden bout of patriotism?" Betty chuckled nervously, hoping her voice didn't betray how uncomfortable and confused she felt. Her good mood had all but drained from existence, and she hoped Daniel would somehow save what was left of it with some explanation that is was all one big prank.

"Oh, well, I got talking with Wilhelmina on the phone last night, brainstorming about the new campaign we're gonna discuss on the meeting today, and she, quite ingenuously, suggested 'Make Mᴏᴅᴇ Great Again!'" Daniel sounded really enthused and in high spirits, and Betty felt her heart sink.

"There's a hat for you too by the way, there on the desk, if you want one," Daniel added casually as he took a seat behind the desk. Betty eyed the red MAGA hat and felt like she was about to be sick. "Anyways, about the campaign; we've featured both Ivanka and Melania on the front cover in the past, and we've worked closely with the Trump Organization on coverage of the Miss Universe competition, so it was a natural choice really," Daniel added, resting his feet on the desk and leaning back in his chair.

"You OK? You are looking a bit out of it," Daniel sounded a bit worried and put his feet down again. Betty reached out to support herself, and Daniel got up to guide her to a chair. Warm, golden sunlight shone in through the windows, and the hustle and bustle of the reception area didn't reach Daniel's office, so it was a safe haven in the sea of insanity, but now it was obvious that the madness had seeped in there as well.

What next? Goosestepping down the hallways of Mᴏᴅᴇ? How had it gotten so bad so fast? Daniel knelt down before her, and saw her big brown eyes blinking with unshed tears in the sunlight. He put a comforting hand on her folded ones, and she met his eyes. Worried blue eyes studied her, and she let out a self-conscious chuckle. She was being silly. She had known Daniel, and the others for a while now, and she was ashamed to think there was anything nefarious behind their new campaign and apparent endorsement. Obviously Daniel and Wilhelmina rubbed shoulders with the rich and influential, so it was no surprise they were on good terms with the Trump family.

There was a single knock on the door, but before either of them could react to it, the door had been opened and Wilhelmina entered with Marc close behind like her flamboyant shadow. Wilhelmina took in the scene with something akin to bemusement, and Betty felt herself close to blushing. Daniel didn't seem to be much bothered by this sudden intrusion, put a comforting hand on Betty's thigh before getting back up. "Sorry to barge in on your little moment here, but we haven't got time for tomfoolery! We've got a meeting to attend," Wilhelmina stated simply, one hand on her hip.

"Lead the way," Daniel gestured for the opened door, ready to head off. "You feeling up to joining us, Betty?" He stopped and looked back at Betty still seated in the char, trying to take in the situation. "Coming!" she spoke up, flashing Daniel a smile in the hopes of addressing his worries. She didn't want to drag his good mood down with her foolish concerns and doubts.

She bit her bottom lip as she contemplated whether or not to bring the MAGA hat Daniel had told she could take. It was the first time she had seen one up close in real life. Her fingertips ghosted the fabric. She could only imagine what her family would have said if they saw her wearing one. Without wasting any more time dillydallying and incurring Wilhelmina's anger she snatched up the hat and brought it with her as she exited the office.

Thankfully she was not the last to arrive at the morning meeting, and she quickly found a seat next to Daniel to smiled at her, and for the first time since the sight of the MAGA hats she smiled back at him with honesty and a smile that matched the look in her eyes. Daniel playfully nudged her shoulder in response, and Betty felt that good mood begin to come back.

Wilhelmina began outlining the new campaign, and aired the possibility of a big special issue with the Trump ladies. Betty wondered how they could hope to get Melania and her step-daughters onboard, but Daniel whispered that Wilhelmina had been romantically involved with Donald back in the 1990s, and that they were still on good terms. That certainly made her see Wilhelmina in a new light.

Afterwards, when most had left to carry out whatever tasks they had been given, Daniel dropped a bombshell on her. "We're heading out to Trump's rally tomorrow afternoon," he began, looking out at the view of the sprawling Manhattan cityscape before turning his head to look at Betty. "Would you care to join us?" He seemed excited and giddy and, weirdly enough his good mood seemed to rub off on Betty. "We'll fly out tomorrow, attend the rally and then a meet and greet after party at the hotel, then fly back next morning."

"Meet and greet?"

"Yes, Wilhelmina has pulled some strings, and we'll get a chance to meet the man himself, and the rest of the family," Daniel prattled on excitedly, adding how his parents had already held a large fundraiser for Trump's campaign. "I know it is very short notice and all, but I'd love to have you there."

Betty's heart started beating extra fast at that, and the worry she had felt since arriving was rapidly turning into excited giddiness. It wasn't necessarily the prospect of attending the rally itself, but attending some fancy meeting with Daniel made her seriously consider the proposal. Was it shallow of her to consider abandoning her ideals just to spend time outside of work with him? It wasn't like she herself endorsed Trump's campaign by accompanying Daniel, and presumably Wilhelmina and Marc. At least that was what she wanted to think. She looked down at the red MAGA hat in her lap.

"OK," she nodded her head, then looking up to meet Daniel's gaze, and she felt her smile back in full force as she saw Daniel's smile in response. "Great! It'll be a blast!" He pulled out an envelope from the inner breast pocket and handed it to her. "Ticks and access passes and all you need to get up to date," he explained as Betty accepted it. "Now, let's go and make Mᴏᴅᴇ Great Again!"

As the day wore on her worries grew and grew, and she was tempted to cancel the whole thing more than once. What had she gotten herself into? Her family would throw a fit once they found out. Hilda would reprimand her, and her dad would be so disappointed in her… Anyone caught wearing one of those dreaded MAGA hats in her neighborhood could find themselves in some seriously hot water.

As she was leaving Marc & Amanda intercepted her in the reception area; they had heard she'd accepted Daniel's invitation, and wanted to know what she was planning to wear for the rally and after party. Both of them were concerned she'd wear something garish and ridiculous that would make them look bad at the public outing. want to make sure she doesn't embarrass them or the magazine at such an important public outing.

They had taken it upon themselves to "help her out", and had put together outfits for her. "Here you are," Amanda handed her several garment bags and flashed her a big smile, as Marc kept stressing how important this was for the magazine; "You'll be representing the magazine and the company, so no garish accessories to go with the outfits, please."

"I've called a cab for you, so you'll get everything home safely," Amanda informed her, ushering her towards the elevator.


End file.
